Morozov should have been here this past year, but hopefully he's around next year. The Pens have a dearth of scoring forwards, and another Russian who can help Evgeni is a MUST. Morozov won't cost too much, so it's a win-win in my book.

Tocchet wrote:Morozov should have been here this past year, but hopefully he's around next year. The Pens have a dearth of scoring forwards, and another Russian who can help Evgeni is a MUST. Morozov won't cost too much, so it's a win-win in my book.

What *Was* CP's problem with Morozov? Was it with him or his agent?

I hope the whole matter can be settled quickly.

On a related note. Anyone heard anything about talks with the Russian Hockey Federation?

Tocchet wrote:Morozov should have been here this past year, but hopefully he's around next year. The Pens have a dearth of scoring forwards, and another Russian who can help Evgeni is a MUST. Morozov won't cost too much, so it's a win-win in my book.

Tocchet wrote:Morozov should have been here this past year, but hopefully he's around next year. The Pens have a dearth of scoring forwards, and another Russian who can help Evgeni is a MUST. Morozov won't cost too much, so it's a win-win in my book.

Isn't he UFA this summer?

Yes. Besides, he may prefer to stay over there. He got blasted for going there at the start of the lockout but it's worked out pretty well for him.

ExPatriatePen wrote:What *Was* CP's problem with Morozov? Was it with him or his agent?

The problem was neither. It was Morozov's inability to play NHL-style hockey. This is one rare area where I agree with CP's judgement. I want no part of him. He has proven time and again he is not suited for this style of play.

The wildcard is the uncertainty that surrounds ownership and the front office. If they get a new GM in there, he might not have the same feelings towards Morozov. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know.

Malkin could definitely use a linemate the speaks Russia though. Off the current roster, I think Koltsov is the only candidate.

Before you say anything, I'm a Morozov fan, probably to the point of being an apologist. I'd like to see him brought back, but I doubt it happens. He has had a lot of success in Russia, and he might very well just remain in the RSL for the rest of his career.

I like Morozov and I think he has some very good skills. He had several chances to prove himself in the NHL. He had trouble finding consistency. He seemed to have found himself at the end of the 03/04 season. I wonder if he could have maintained that level of play. I think he is best suited to play in Russia. It fits his style. They are paying him similar to what he would make in the NHL.
Every time someone points out a player doing well in Europe I have 2 words for them - Jiri Dopita.

The ONLY way Morozov is a Penguin next season is if Malkin demands a Russian winger and mentions Morozov by name. Otherwise Morozov is done in Pittsburgh. I'm impartial either way. I think Morozov can be gutless most of the time but if he has found himself in the RSL and has a player like Malkin centering him it would be a good pickup.

Morozov....hmmmmm.....see this is a complicated player and a complicated topic.

First of all, I don't personally like Morozov because I think he is a waste of talent. He could be a point/game player in the NHL AT BEST but he has even more ability then that. It would be easier for him to get that point/game status now that the rules don't allow clutching and crabbing but it is certaining not a gaurentee.

He has matured and is in his prime playing years. He is really tearing up the Super League. Malkin is a fellow counrtymen and adding Morozov with Gonchar and Koltsov should make him feel very comfortable in the locker room and that is important for a player so young. Morozov could also play wing for for Malkin and the language thing helps when your out there, it could help accelerate the NHL learning curve.

Morozov could be bought for under 2 million and IF he does decide to play every game that would be a bargain. The Pens have some money to spend and could out bid other teams for Morozov if they wanted to. The really complicated thing about it is that I would not want to sign him for more then a year but there is a chance that another team might offer him as much as 3 years. That is a very tough choice and I would rather have Recchi back for only 1 more year than (ughh) then Morozov here for 3 and run the huge risk that he will lose all faith in his game again and be the worthless waste of skates he has shown us he is game after game after game.

The real X factor is Therrian. Would Therrian allow Morozov to slack? How would Morozov respond to a Therrian media whipping? Would he cry or would he go insane and play like he can. I doubt he can read english any better then he speaks it .

Morozov isn't young. He's 28 years old. And I seriously doubt any NHL GM is shelling out $2 million for a guy with a history of disappearing for long stretches and has been out of the league for two years.

I would not object to him being here because for all his inconsistency and other faults, he does have goal scoring ability which is in short supply on this roster. I'd be curious to see how he'd play in the new NHL.

netwolf wrote:Morozov isn't young. He's 28 years old. And I seriously doubt any NHL GM is shelling out $2 million for a guy with a history of disappearing for long stretches and has been out of the league for two years.

I would not object to him being here because for all his inconsistency and other faults, he does have goal scoring ability which is in short supply on this roster. I'd be curious to see how he'd play in the new NHL.

That said, I can't see him back here ever.

Im cool with that but most people consider ages 27-33 "the prime years" in the NHL. Never said he was young and if he still was 24 I still would have my doubts based on what he has done in the league already.

I can think of several teams that would throw 1 to 2 million at Morozov just because of the desperation of some teams. The New York Islanders desperately need to get a second line together and their top line isn't getting the job done every night.

NIN wrote:Im cool with that but most people consider ages 27-33 "the prime years" in the NHL. Never said he was young and if he still was 24 I still would have my doubts based on what he has done in the league already.

I can think of several teams that would throw 1 to 2 million at Morozov just because of the desperation of some teams. The New York Islanders desperately need to get a second line together and their top line isn't getting the job done every night.

My bad. I misread part of the post and now see it was Malkin you called young...

At any rate, in a capped NHL it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to burn $1 to $2 million on a guy who's been out of the NHL for two years. That said, Mike Milbury has a history of not mkaing sense.

NIN wrote:Im cool with that but most people consider ages 27-33 "the prime years" in the NHL. Never said he was young and if he still was 24 I still would have my doubts based on what he has done in the league already.

I can think of several teams that would throw 1 to 2 million at Morozov just because of the desperation of some teams. The New York Islanders desperately need to get a second line together and their top line isn't getting the job done every night.

My bad. I misread part of the post and now see it was Malkin you called young...

At any rate, in a capped NHL it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to burn $1 to $2 million on a guy who's been out of the NHL for two years. That said, Mike Milbury has a history of not mkaing sense.

I don't know. I usually don't look forward to next year until the current one is up, no matter how bad it's going.

But even if there is a limited FA pool to swin in, GMs will still be reluctant to give him (or anyone that's been out of the league for a while) much more than the league minimum. It's just not a smart thing to do in a cap environment.

netwolf wrote:I don't know. I usually don't look forward to next year until the current one is up, no matter how bad it's going.

But even if there is a limited FA pool to swin in, GMs will still be reluctant to give him (or anyone that's been out of the league for a while) much more than the league minimum. It's just not a smart thing to do in a cap environment.

What you say makes alot of sense and I agree but LeClair gets 1.5 after a strike year among others. Anything is possible and I think im going to be pretty acurate about Morozov. IF he choses to go back to the NHL that is. I don't know why he would want to come back in the first place.

NIN wrote:What you say makes alot of sense and I agree but LeClair gets 1.5 after a strike year among others. Anything is possible and I think im going to be pretty acurate about Morozov. IF he choses to go back to the NHL that is. I don't know why he would want to come back in the first place.

I think LeClair was overpaid in year 1 of his deal. That aside, compare LeClair's career and numbers against Morozov's. It ain't even close.

It's one thing to drop $1.5 mil on a proven vet like LeClair even if he is on the downside of his career. It is quite another to drop that kind of coin on a underachiever like Morozov.

NIN wrote:What you say makes alot of sense and I agree but LeClair gets 1.5 after a strike year among others. Anything is possible and I think im going to be pretty acurate about Morozov. IF he choses to go back to the NHL that is. I don't know why he would want to come back in the first place.

I think LeClair was overpaid in year 1 of his deal. That aside, compare LeClair's career and numbers against Morozov's. It ain't even close.

It's one thing to drop $1.5 mil on a proven vet like LeClair even if he is on the downside of his career. It is quite another to drop that kind of coin on a underachiever like Morozov.

There's a couple of ways to compare the signing of LeClair to the potential signing of Morozov. There was alot of fish last summer and LeClair was among the last to land. I think he is an elite 3rd liner and a power play specialist and 1.5 isn't outrageous if he is cast in that role.

He is a liability with anymore icetime than 10 minutes in my opinion.

Morozov has got supply and demand going for him, unlike LeClair had. He also stands to benefit from the new rules while LeClair has been foiled by them in many areas of his game. MOst importantly is the way he is playing NOW as he enters his prime years. It is one thing to get hot for a couple weeks but Morozov has been among the elite of the Super League all season long. Showing that much consistancy in a league that strong will definately get him noticed by NHL GMs.

NIN wrote:Morozov has got supply and demand going for him, unlike LeClair had. He also stands to benefit from the new rules while LeClair has been foiled by them in many areas of his game. MOst importantly is the way he is playing NOW as he enters his prime years. It is one thing to get hot for a couple weeks but Morozov has been among the elite of the Super League all season long. Showing that much consistancy in a league that strong will definately get him noticed by NHL GMs.

I think you are putting too much stock in Morozov's RSL performance. Other than NHL draft-eligible kids, I don't think NHL GMs care all that much about what players do there. If they did, someone owuld have approached the Pens about trading for his rights for a mid to late round pick and Patrick likely would have taken it.

I'm not saying Morozov won't have interest from some teams; I just don't think anyone will want to give him much money without seeing him play at least a year back in the NHL.

netwolf wrote:I think you are putting too much stock in Morozov's RSL performance. Other than NHL draft-eligible kids, I don't think NHL GMs care all that much about what players do there. If they did, someone owuld have approached the Pens about trading for his rights for a mid to late round pick and Patrick likely would have taken it.

I'm not saying Morozov won't have interest from some teams; I just don't think anyone will want to give him much money without seeing him play at least a year back in the NHL.

It's not without risk, that's for sure. I would go as high as 1.5 for 1 year only if I were desperate, which the Pens are.

Why would someone waste a pick on a guy who is going to be an UFA at the end of the season anyways? Why not wait and see how he plays overseas and then make him a low low offer. I think a few teams might have that same idea and so the price goes up.

Morozov's failure at the NHL level does'nt take away from the fact that he has had some success and a 28 year old can play alot better then a 26 year old sometimes.

NIN wrote:It's not without risk, that's for sure. I would go as high as 1.5 for 1 year only if I were desperate, which the Pens are.

Why would someone waste a pick on a guy who is going to be an UFA at the end of the season anyways? Why not wait and see how he plays overseas and then make him a low low offer. I think a few teams might have that same idea and so the price goes up.

Morozov's failure at the NHL level does'nt take away from the fact that he has had some success and a 28 year old can play alot better then a 26 year old sometimes.

I was talking about last summer before the season started. Teams knew Patrick had no interest in re-signing Morozov and could have had his rights for practically nothing if they wanted. Then they could have signed him for a one year deal to see what he could do.

None of this makes any difference because I think Morozov is happy in the RSL. I don't think he has any desire to come back to North America.